Yara supports women farmers with fertilisers

Yara Ghana Ltd, a fertiliser dealer company in Ghana, has donated some fertiliser products to two women farmer groups in the country.

The donation is an annual exercise made by the chief executive officer (CEO) of Yara International to women farmers in Africa.

A statement issued by the company in Accra said this year’s donation was to provide a complete crop nutrition solution for maize to cover an acre each for a season to 600 women farmers (300 women farmers from each group).

The donated fertilisers comprised the YaraMila Actyva and YaraBela Sulfan, which provide high yields on cereals.

Criterion

The various countries within the Yara Business Unit in Africa were invited to submit proposals based on the work they had done with women farmers in their respective countries.

The Yara Ghana team impressed the panel with work done with two women farmer groups.

 The groups are the St Cecilia Women’s Cooperative and the Development Action Association (DAA).

The St Cecilia Women’s Cooperative at Tuna in the Northern Region is made up of over 700 women farmers, out of which a substantial number of them are widows.

 The group is to support women farmers to access agricultural extension training and affordable and quality inputs to increase their farm productivity.

The other group, DAA, with 98 per cent of its members being rural women, is an association of farmers and fish processors operating in the Greater Accra, Central, Volta and Eastern regions with the objective of reducing poverty and empowering group members to be self-reliant and   participate fully in their own development.

The DAA sprung out of a Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) project done over 20 years ago, dubbed: “Freedom from hunger campaign action for development”. It has a membership of 3,000.

Presentation

At a ceremony to present the fertilisers to the DAA at Timber Nkwanta in the Akuapem North Municipality of the Eastern Region, the Managing Director of Yara Ghana, Mr Danquah Addo-Yobo, stated that the presentation was to support the women farmers to increase their yields and improve on their farming business.

“Apart from the fertilisers, Yara Ghana shall continue its work with these women farmers in training and sensitisation of members on best agronomic farming practices to ensure that the right application and right farming practices are adopted to deliver high yields,” he added.

He said since women were critical in building and sustaining homes, it was the company’s hope that the gesture would also extend to support various households.

Other remarks

The Eastern Regional Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Mr Henry Crentsil Jnr, commended women farmers for their contribution to the agricultural sector and encouraged them to continue striving for success.

The Executive Director of the DAA, Ms Lydia Sasu, received the items on behalf of the group and expressed its members’ appreciation to Yara Ghana for the support, noting that it would go a long way to boost their productivity and increase yields.